PhotoHunter: Low

I decided to do a bit of a stretch on the theme for this week’s PhotoHunter…

The theme is Low. I was born in Wakefield, Quebec, which is just a bit south of Low, Quebec. See where I am headed with this? Just south of Low… or… Wait for it… A bit lower than Low. HA!

Here are a few photos of Wakefield…

The covered bridge, Wakefield

The former hospital, where I was born....

…specifically, the room on the second floor peeking out from behind the branches.

Powwow, Harvest Festival, Wakefield, QC

The old railway line which used to go up to Low, QC

… still used by the old steam train, but only to carry tourists as far as the old station in Wakefield.

AND, as I completely forgot to mention when I initially posted this… This stretch of rail featured in Buster Keaton’s last film “The Railrodder”. In a bit of creative license, Buster, travelling west on the CN rail line passes through Ottawa and then heads up through the Gatineau Hills and through Wakefield would have headed up past Low. If you haven’t seen the film, here is your chance. The National Film Board of Canada has the full film available and I present it below my photos.

Once you have watched it, be sure to check out other amazing Canadian animated, short, documentary, and other films from the NFB! Ottawa, as it was when I was small comes in at 7:26 and Wakefield follows shortly after.

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22 Comments

gjsnyderphoto said,

I realize this ppost is old but just wanted to say love the shot of the cover bridge. That being said you may recognize the photo on my sight ww.gregsnyderphotography.ca I’ve only lived in Wakefield for about 18 months and we love it.

I loved you take on the theme. I never knew there is a town named Low, but it is perfect. I especially loved the Pow-wow, you can literally see their movement! Have a blessed weekend and thanks for stopping by,

No, it wasn’t the beer talking. It was creativity doing the work. Looks like a quaint place. Love the caption that says “The old railway line that used to go UP to LOW…” Seems like a contradiction, doesn’t it?

There is actually a children’s book by a local author (a friend of my mother’s), called “Up to Low”. It talks about taking the old train up to Low, amongst other things. When I was a child, you could still take the train from the old railway station across from the Chateau Laurier, the CN hotel, in Ottawa all the way up there.

In fact, if you ever saw the Buster Keaton film “The Railrodder” (his last film) you would have seen the stretch of rail I photographed. They used a bit of creative license in depicting Wakefield as part of the journey out west by rail (as well as the trip from the old railway station — now a conference centre at risk of being demolished over my dead body!!!– and then across the Ottawa River).

I forgot to add that to my posting! How silly! What a great film that is. You must see it if you haven’t already! I will add that bit of history in a moment!

I think Wakefield is named after the English town, as is your Wakefield, likely. A lot of towns in this area are named after English towns, like Hull,,,, Despite their being in Quebec, this part of Quebec is mostly English-speaking, despite being forced by Quebec law to display French signs, only. A sore spot for me, since I was born there and would love to live there but won’t because of the language laws.

I forgot to add an important piece of history to my post. I have rectified that.

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It’s Mom’s 87th birthday, today! We had a scare last week when we went out to see our friends in the band play and after a lovely evening despite her having found a band-aid in her pizza (her dinner and wine, including a complimentary wine to make up for the band-aid, was free). Just as […]